Loose leaf binder



Oct. 25, 1932. J. SCHADE' LOOSE LEAF BINDER FiledAprl 3. 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 l r niajuu aff/01786.?

not only UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE f JOHN soirAnnor HoLYoxE, MASSACHUSETTS, assIs-Naro NATIONAL BLANK BooK COMPANY, or HoLYoKE,

MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION 0F MASSACHUSETTS LoosE LEAF BINDER Application'led April 3, 1930. Serial No; 441,212.

My invention relates-to loose leaf binders, that comprise twoinetal sections having upstanding sides and inwardly flanged ends, said sides and ends merging into bottom or floor portions, andthese portions as well as theV flanged vends are arranged to telescope over each other, so that the binder may be eX- panded or contracted, as the usual exigencies of the occasion may deman Each section kcarries straight posts which are arranged in staggered relation, and on these posts are yplaced perforated sheets or leaves.

Loose leaf books ol this description are l capable of use as ledgers, visible index books,

or, in fact, as any sort of a loose leaf structure intendedfor oiliceuse, and the binders are so equipped that loose leaves may be placed over the posts and maybe shifted from one side to the other rof the structure, and any of these leaves may be removed and replaced, or additional leaves may be added in the manner common to books of this description. v

The posts are carried by elongatedbars 'qi that are hinged to the respective sides so as to normally lie close against the inner Vfaces of said sides, and are positively andl automatically locked ink this position when said bars are swung downwardly, and the posts in their :l normal state are parallel with each other and with the bottoms of said sections.

, Furthermore, this invention employs an automatically operating mechanism which equa-lizes the strains that are applied in open- 0;? ing or closing the sections, and which also ing of the sections.

Also,` at one end ol the binder, the flanged ends are provided with devices which autofunctions as a stop to prevent undue spreadmatically interlock` when the. sections are closed, and which are manually operated to unlock the sections so that they can be spread apart.

y 'All that has heretofore'been said applies to the present binder but also t0 bindersin the prior art, but in the latter each section at one outer end had certain means which must be operated before the bars that carried the posts could be swungupwardly, and this was clumsy and quite inconvenient,

since, not only must the locking means for the sections be first manually operated to free the sections for spreading, but also each means the outer end of each section, usually a thumb-lever associated with the parts that cooperated to lock the bars whenclosed to the sections, had to be separately operated before the bars could be swung upwardly, as before stated-,was inconvenient.

The sole object of the presentinventionzis to eliminatek individual means for unlocking the bars, and yto perform both the unlocking of the sections and also the unlocking of the post carrying bars, by the manipulation of a single element conveniently located at the central yportion of one end of the binder, so that it is a very simple matter, after the preliminary unlocking of the sections and the spreading of the same, to operate the same elementv that accomplished this for the purpose of 11nlocking the post carrying bars, and, by a flip of the fingers, simultaneously swinging said bars upwardly. f

In the' accompanying drawings 'I have illustrated a preferred embodiment of my invention, and' attention is invited to these drawings, which are to be read as a part ofthey detail description which follows, and in which Figure 1 is a plan view, of my improved binder in closed positionf Figure 2 is a section at the line 2 2 of Figure l- Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure l but showing the sections unlocked preparatory, to spreadingf Figure t is a section at the line 4-4 of Figure 1- f Figure 5 is a plan view of the binder as it appears when the sections are spread apart and the post carrying bars swung upwardly- Figure 6 is a section at the line 6-6vof Figure 5, and

and this Figure 7 is a detail segregate section at either of the lines 7-7 merely toshow the relative assembly of the equalizer bar and the superimposed elongated sleeve? whose operation and function constitute the feature of this invention.

Similar numerals of referencepwill hereini tending from the end of the bar,

after be used to designate like parts in the several figures of the drawings.

I have not shown any side covers for the binder, nor have l shown the outer facing strips that ordinarily are applied to the sides of the sections and-lap along the adjacent bottomsthereof in spaced relation thereto, since they have nothing to do with thepresent invention and are rnot at `all necessary features in binders of this description.

1, 2, are telescopically disposed back sections, such as are usually employed inbinders of this sort, the section 1 having rec# tangular ends 8 that terminate vin inturned iianges 4 which are disposed in telescoping relation ibcneathsimilar inturned' flanges 5 at the rectangular ends 6 of the section 2, the ends 3 being, of course, inside the ends 6 likewise in telescoping relation, so that it willv be evident that these sections are free to be collapsed or spread.

`The sides of the sections are rectangular as shown at 7, 8, and have formed therewith at spaced intervals along their upper edges s hinge eyes 9, 10;

11, 12, are side bars having brazed or welded to their inner faces comparatively thin strips 13, 14, of metal and formed integrally from these stripsare spaced hinge eyes 15, 16, whichare alined with the eyes 9, 10, and pintels 17, 18, passed through said eyes, ryvhereby these bars are hinged to the sides a, are straight posts secured to and' eX- Y bars 11, 12, so that when the latter are in their normal position, or swung downwardly, these posts will extend toward each other in staggered `relation and will be parallel with each other and with the backs of thesections.

The equalizer mechanism is well s known and comprises a long floating bar 19 to which the inner ends ofa pair of levers 20, 21, are pivoted at 22 near what 1 will call the front while the inner ends of a pair of levers 2,8, 24, are pivoted at 25 to the rear endof said bar, the outer ends of said pairs beingnpivoted respectively at 26, 27, and 28, 29, to the sections 1 and 2, andsince the function of this equalizer is well known,

no further description thereof is necessary,

except, possibly, to call attention to the factY that when theY sections are spread the forward endv of the bar will strike the end wall 8 .and thereby prevent und'ue spreading of the sections.

30, 81,are elongated latch-bars that lie flat against the sections 1, 2, and are confined by means of studs 32, 33, secured to said sections and passing through elongated slots 34, 35,'in said Ilatch-bars at each end of the latter, so that it will be clear that said bars can have a lengthwise play.

Secured to the faces of these bars near the ends are cam plates 36, 37, having upturned edges of noses 38, 39, and secured at one end to studs 40, 41, that are fastened to the sections 1, 2, are springs c, d, whose free ends bear against the rear edges of one of the plates 36, 37, the latch-bars 80, 31, being cut away as shown at 42, 43, so that said studs can ,notinterfere with the sliding movements of the latch bars.

44, 45, are lugs which extend from the free the side bars 11, 12, and these lugs areA .normally housed ,Within notches ,46, 47, at the bases of the noses 88, 89.

Referring to Figure 5, it will be clear that when these side bars are swung downwardly, the lugs 44, 45, will strike against the noses 38, 39, and will force the latch-bars 30, 81, to slide against the resiliency of the springs ad, until said lugs have cleared said noses, whereupon said springs will operate to throw the notches 46, 47, into engagement with the lugs to lock the side bars'.

48 is an elongated sleeve slidable on the bar 19 and extending partway thereof and terminating in a finger 49 which is normally engaged by one arm of a spring 50 that is confined to said bar, as by a screw 51,.the other arm of the spring being held beneath the bar. The outer end of the sleeve 48. is bent up at right angles to form a thumb-piece 52 and the adjacent flanges 4, 5, at one end of the binder have gates 58, 54, which coincide when the sections are closed, the spring 50 thereupon func-tioning to force the part 52 within said vgates and thereby lock the sections together. i

The locked condition brought about in the manner just described is shown at Figure 1, but it is necessary to take into consideration certain other features that are intimately as sociated with this locking in order that a full understanding of the latter may be had. Referring to Figure 4, 55 is a bolt slidably disposed between the flange 4 and the bottom of the section 1, and 56 is a headed stud that passes through an elongated slot 57 and is secured to the end 3 whereby the bolt is guided in its movements, and a spring 58 is carried in any suitable mannerby the bolt and bears against the side 7 of the section 1 and non mally forces the bolt inwardly. lVe will assume that the sections are spread apart, as shown at Figure 5, and it is desired `to close them.

It will be observed that the bolt 55 has been projected by the spring 58 so that it obstructs the gate 58, but in closing the sections the thumb piece will strike the bolt andforce it away until the gates 53, 54, coincide so that the actionof the spring 50 can then force the thumb-piece within the gates and lock the sections together.

It will therefore be understood that the bolt 55 will be forced by its spring against the thumb piece 52 when the sections are locked, this being clearly shown at Figures 1 and 4.

It might be stated right here that the post tions are closed, altliouglnlwithsheets the ars before closing the sections,l f

In opening out the sections, the thumb pi 52isr pushed inwardly,*thus compressing ie spring bytheconsequent impact of the linger 49, and when this ypiece has been move-dv so that the end of the sleeve 48-is arrested by the pin 59 that extends up from the bar "i9, the thumb piece will have cleared the bolt and the latter vwill be' projected in the rear of said piece as shown at Figure 3y and thereby 1 posts it would be necessary to close the post prevent the latter fromsnapping back and locking the sections, `,and the latter may now be spread apartas shown at igure 5 where it will be noted that the spring, relieved of the impact of the linger 49, has come Yto resty againstthepin 59.

The sleeve 48 rests upon the bottom of the section 1, "and elongated openings 60, 61, are made at spaced locations in the sides of the sleeve and through the opening 60 extends a tongue 62 that is welded or otherwise secured to the latch-bar 30, and through the opening 61 extends a similar tongue 63 that is secured to the latch-bar 31, both of these tongues being of less width than that of the slots through which they pass, as will be evident from Figure 2, and both tongues being free for movement throughout these slots. TWhen the thumb piece 52 is initially pressed inwardly, as heretofore set forth, this will move the sleeve so that the walls of these openings 60, 61, nearest the thumb-piece will be brought into contact with these tongues, and, after the sections have been spread apart, should it be desired to open up the post carrying bars, the thumb piece is again pushed in wardly thus causing the consequent movement of the sleeve to thrust the tongues forward, and therefore to slide the latch-bars 30, 31, against the resiliency of their springs,

and this will disengage the lugs 44, 45, from the notches 46, 47, whereupon, with a mere flip of the fingers, the posts can be raised, and this is readily effected at the saine time when the thumb piece is operated.

It will be obvious that the unlatching of t-he post carrying bars by unitary means has nothing to do with the locking of the sections in closed position, since the operation of said means only occurs when the sections are spread apart, and therefore so far as theunlatching and manipulation of the post carrying bars are concerned, the invention is not limited to va construction that includes devices for locking the sections together in closed position.

The sleeve 48 has no connection with the bar 19, and the bar and sleeve are therefore capable of independent sliding movements, but, in order that there may be no lifting of the sleeve lips 64 are lanced from the opposite sides of the sleevey and bent beneath the bar, as clearly shown at Figures 2, 6 and 7. From the foregoing it will be clear that unitary means are employed not only for locking and unlocking the sections, but also for unlatching the post, carrying-bars so that /th'ev latter may be swung upwardly, and this is ay greatconvenience in of a sectional binder.

the manipulation l/Vhat is claimed i- 1. A loose leaf binder comprising telescopiiig sections, an elongated floating bar, toggle levers pivotallyr connected tov said sections and to said bar at spaced locations, post-carrying hinged to the sides of said sections, interengaging latchA members carried by said bars and sections, and unitary means for locking and unloclringtlie sections and for unlatchi'ng said post-carrying bars.

2. A construction as in claim 1 in which said unitary means consists of a manually operable elongated sleeve slidably mounted on the floating bai', a spring car 1ied by said bar and nor naily operating to resist the manipulation ofsaid sleeve, and connections be; tween said sleeve and the latching members carried by the sections, whe eby the manipulation of said sleeve will withdrawn said members.

3. A loose leaf binder comprising telescopingl sections, resiliently acting latch members carried by the bases of said sections, post-carrying bars hinged to the sides of the sections and carrying lugs adapted when said bars are swung downwardly to engage said members, an equalizing mechanism comprising an elongated iioating-bar and toggle leversl pivoted to said bar and sections at spaced locations, an elongated sleeve slidablymounted on said bar and having at its 'inner end a pro- Y jecting finger, a spring' carried by said floating'bar and. normally engaging said linger and functioning to resist the manipulation of said sleeve, a stop pin carried by said float-V ing sections, an elongated floating bar, toggle levers pivotally connected to said sections and to said bar at spaced locations, post-carrying bars hinged to the sides bearing lugs on said bars, latch members carriedby said sections and resiliently operatedk by spring means to engage said lugs and lock said barsin one position, and unitary means manually operable for simultanenously unof said sections and latching both post carrying bars when the sections are spread.

5. A loose leaf binder comprising sections whose ends have inwardlyextending flangesthat are telescopically disposed and whose door portions are lilrewise in telescopic relation, an equalizing mechanism comprising a long. *floating bar and toggle levers pivoted to said bar and sections atspaced locations, an elongated sleeve slidably mounted on said bar and having its outer end bent up to form a thumb piece, gates in the flanges at the end of said sections adjacent said thumb piece, a spring-bolt cariied by one of the sections adjacent the gate therein, spring means for normally urging said sleeve against said gated flanges, whereby, when the sections are completely closed the gates in` said flanges will coincide and the thumb piece enter therein to lock the sections, and when said thumb piece is manipulated to clear the gates said bolt will be projected immediately behind the thumb piece and the sections thereby be in position for spreading.

6. A construction as in claim with the addition that post carrying bars are hinged to' the sides of the sections and inter-engaging latch members are carried by said bars and the iioors ot the sections, whereby when the bars are swung downwardly these members will automatically engage to lock the bars and connections are established between said sleeve and the latching members carried by the sections, whereby after the sections have been spread apart said sleeve may be manipu# lated to disengage said last named latching members and thereby permit the post-carrying` bars to be thrown upwardly.

7 A loose leal binder, comprising inner and outer telescoping sections, post-carrying` bars hinged to the sides ot said sections, re:- siliently acting latch members carried by said sections, lugs extending from the free edges ot said bars and automatically interlocking with said members when said bars are swung to closed position, an equalizing mechanism consisting of a floating bar and toggle levers pivoted to said bar and to said sections at spaced locations, a sleeve slidably mounted on said floating bar and normally spring retracted to lock the sections together in closed position, and operable connections between saidv sleeve and latching members, said sleeve being manipulable in two stages, first, to unf lock the sections preparatory to spreading,

and second, after the sections have been spread, to withdraw the latching members from engagement with said lugs to permit the post carrying bars to be swung upwardly.

i 8. A construction as in claim 7, with the addition that a spring influenced bolt is carried by one end of the inner telescoping section and under tension bears against the sleeve when the sections are closed, whereby, when the sleeve is operated to unlock the sec-V Lasagne tions,

of said sleeve and thereby preventfthe latter said bolt will be projected inthe-rear` with respect to the sections.

9. A loose leaf binder, comprising sections having .bottoms and inwardly extending flanged endsiin telescopic relation, po stcarl rying bars ly operated by spring means to engagesaid lugs and lock said bars inclosed position,

hinged to the sides oi said -sec- .tions and `bearing lugson saidbars, latching devices carried by/said sections and resilientj and unitary means operated to automatically lock the sections when closed, and manually' operable in successive stages tor unlock said sec-tions preparatory to spreading themA and to disengage said. latching devices `after spreading, whereby said bars maybeswung i upwardly.

In testimony whereor` I aliX my signature hereto;

JOHN SGHADE. 

